Thrift Store Kitty Volume 2

Home Sweet Home

 

This is my second blog post about a couch getting donated, accompanied by a stowaway kitty.   Apparently couches are the primo spot for hiding for our feline friends.  You’d think the cat would have tried to escape once she/he felt the sofa moving but perhaps the springs were in the way.  However, as this came to pass (again!) I guess I must make a mental note to dig not only for misplaced spare change in the cushions but also to tune my ear for a telltale mewl from within the depths of any couch I may be eyeballing for my living room. 

There clearly must be a gang of rogue cats determined to infiltrate our thrift stores; their true intentions not entirely evident.  Must be an Al-Quatda plot to capture our hearts.

For the full article, click here:  http://tinyurl.com/catcouchthrift

Meow!

Back to School in Style

Spreading the Good Will

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  Now those lyrics may normally be heard on the radio around Christmas but for millions of parents across the nation and around the world, these words convey an entirely different meaning…

…school is back in session!

And while their parents may be thrilled at the prospect of shipping off their kids for another fun-filled  year, the students more than likely are not terribly enthused.  The task of finding classrooms, memorizing locker combinations, and piling on hour of after hour of homework somehow overshadows the excitement at returning to the old classrooms. 

The only thing kids probably enjoy in preparation for the new school year is the annual ritual of school shopping. 

Now when I was a kid, it was mandatory to visit the ubiquitous Buster Brown shoe store to be outfitted with decent footgear for the first day of school.  This part, for me, actually wasn’t too bad.  I enjoyed all the fussing of the lady helping me try on my new lace-ups, and certainly secretly thrilled in the smell of the leather.  Buying a pretty new dress also was something to look forward to as my mother and I visited our local department store.  And so it was that on the first day back to school, I’d be resplendent in my red gingham dress, matching red socks, and spiffy new footwear shining in the sun.

Fast forward a few years and now as the mother of an emerging fashion-conscious tween boy, I find myself in the bittersweet position of rejoicing in his starting back at school and feeling the sting as I part with more money than I’d like to outfit him for his new middle school experience.

As I mention in my book, Second Hand Roses: Lessons From the Junktiquing Road, this whole buying-retail thing now, with my years of thrifting experience clouding my judgment on what constitutes a normal price for things, I take great umbrage to the thought of parting with more than $10 for a pair of jeans!  A visit to Sears a while back found me on more than one occasion laughing out loud at the prices displayed on the racks. 

“Avoiding the sidelong glances of the saleslady stacking T-shirts nearby, I muffled an indignant snort or two as I scoffed at the temerity of the store to price a simple hoodie at well over $50.  Are they serious, I thought to myself, looking over the cheap plastic zipper, destined for breakage within a month or two.  The thing looked no more substantial than an overgrown sweatshirt; the only seeming justification of such an outrageous price being the tiny label stitched in the neckline. Did they expect the wearer to turn the jacket inside-out, so as to impress anyone with sharp enough eyes to see the tag?” 

Nevertheless, my son has his heart set these days on certain brands and while I could afford that $50 hoodie, quite frankly it’s more often than not that I have returned from a thrifting run at my local Goodwill, bag full of clothes, (some of those very name brands he so covets),  paying LESS than $50 for at least five outfits.  And they’re outfits he can wear with pride, labels and all, and no one is the wiser as to how much actually got spent on them.  He’s cool for one-quarter the price, at least!

Seems I am not the only one out there checking out thrift stores these days for back-to-school fashions.  Check out this link.  Fox News apparently has latched onto the idea as well. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfsQOOPcC0Y

Now that’s what I call stimulating the economy!

Goodwill Hunting Volume 2

The New Hot Store in Town

What has amazed me is the national media just now getting on the junktiquing bandwagon.  All of a sudden what some of us have been doing for years has transformed into the New Thing To Do. 

Now it’s not just the thrift store Regulars haunting the aisles, but a whole slew of newbies are entering these hallowed halls, some out of curiosity and others more likely out of necessity.

And it’s our job as Regulars; the old school players of thrifting, to show these rookies around. 

According to MSN money’s website, author Melinda Fulmer notes the following,

“Driving this boom at the nation’s estimated 25,000 thrift and resale stores are big jumps in demand for clothing, especially work clothes such as dress shirts, suits and skirts, says Lauren Lawson, a spokeswoman for Goodwill Industries International.”

It’s no longer the diehards in the aisles.  It’s all of us. 

So to the Regulars, if you see somebody sporting a bewildered look as they march through the doors of your local Goodwill, take the time to clue them in to some important tips.

It’s not likely that some of these venturers will know how to navigate the aisles, how to spot a great bargain, and, most importantly, how to hang onto the item they discover and not put it back on the shelf, as one fact remains true of thrift stores.

There’s not a huge back-stocked inventory of duplicate items in The Back if they aren’t fast enough to grab what catches their eye.  And while this may prove frustrating at first, remind them that once they’ve got over this shock, they’ll actually find a vicarious thrill in whisking special treasures in their cart, drawing longing looks from other co-shoppers. 

And by the way, remind our new friends that if they find a fabulous coat, groovy pair of jeans, or smashing pair of heels, they’d better get it right then, because it won’t be there if they leave and change their mind.  Had I heeded my own advice a couple of years ago, I’d be snuggly warm in a gorgeous wool jacket rather than borrowing my husband’s slightly moth-eaten parka for another season.

So whether you’re a old-timer scouring the shelves for another trinket or a thrift store virgin, have some fun, relax, but be sure to hunt wisely and well. 

Since we’re all in this for the long-haul, like it or not, we might as well have a good time and help each other out.  Isn’t that what a compassionate society does after all?

Welcome, friends!

http://tinyurl.com/thriftstorescore

Goodwill Hunting

It's affecting us all

This economy has taken its toll on all of us, some more than others.  People are taking notice and at 9.7 percent unemployment, more people should take a second look at an area heretofore left to the “fringes” of society….thrift stores. 

Seems that people are having to cut corners everywhere in ways that even six months ago perhaps they would not have imagined.  One contributor to the “Speak up!” section on Goodwill.org says that she’s having to learn how to use her microwave a lot more.  Others must get creative in different ways in order to cope with the widespread financial mess that pervades our society these days. 

Even those of us fortunate enough to still be employed are seeing the proverbial forest for the trees and resorting to venues up to now not considered for our budgets.  In my trips to my local Goodwill, for example, it’s been in the past year or so that I have noticed many different customers coming through the doors for the first time; some out of curiosity and some more of necessity.  Bad economy or not, employment status questionable, it’s still a fact that kids need school clothes and that coffee won’t brew itself in thin air.  Gone is the heyday of cruising the malls and parting with hundreds of dollars on life’s essentials.  Now we’re all having to trim the fat and until this situation improves, I foresee many more folks coming to this previously dark corner of commerce. 

There’s no stigma in saving money; in fact one could say that it is wise to bargain hunt when possible as while there may be some leeway in clothing allowances, the gas bill or the car insurance won’t likely go down anytime soon.  Something’s gotta give.

Check out this interesting article from Goodwill Industries and perhaps you can contribute a story or two of your own.  It’s the only way we’re going to make it these days….by working together and sharing our life experiences.

Come along and try your luck at Goodwill Hunting one day!

http://tinyurl.com/goodwillspeakup

Books books books

Look within the covers

I just got back from Goodwill and found some fabulous additions to my home library. It’s amazing that for usually under two bucks a pop, I can stock my shelves with some of the greatest literature, the most informative digests, or the trashiest novels known to man. 

Other than borrowing books from the library, I can think of no finer source of reading material than my local thrift store.  How many hundreds of dollars have I saved over the years by merely taking the few extra moments to peruse the jumbled aisles for a treasure or two?  It staggers my mind. 

I am grateful for stores like Goodwill who see fit to lovingly set up shelves for those of us wanting to expand our minds, learn a new recipe, or just while away a few beachside hours.  Without the tireless work of these charities, I’d hazard a guess that many thousands of pounds of paper, not even mentioning the information written uponthem, would head to the landfills. 

And I am even more grateful to those folks going through their home bookshelves, sorting out what they no longer want, and making the effort to transport these books to their respective charity of choice.  Without them, so many others may not have the opportunity to be introduced to the likes of Huckleberry Finn, Jackie Collins, Sherlock Holmes, Julia Child, and even Maurice Sendak. 

So thanks to  you all, for today I decorated my life just a wee bit more, while parting with less than $10.00 for the whole lot.  I’ll brew up a cup of Darjeeling in honor of your altruism while I curl up in my bookreading chair. 

Now if I could just remember where I put my fuzzy bunny slippers….

Thrift Store Newbie

Your Treasures Await

You need to read this article. As more and more folks venture into thrift stores for the first time, this sense of “shock and awe,” will only spread. It is possible, even logical, to travel down roads previously hidden to discover ways to improve one’s life and preserve the income!

http://tinyurl.com/thriftstorehaunt

The Wave is Continuing

 

Hey' how'd my kid get stuck in this beast?

 

It’s a phenomenon. Thrift store shopping is the only way to go! Check it out…

http://tinyurl.com/greenbaythrift

Thrift Store Divas Unite!

Where all true divas shop

Divas unite!  Budgets notwithstanding, we can all look great.

Check out this cool article….

http://tinyurl.com/thriftdiva

Thrift Store Kitty

 

 

Here kitty kitty

There’s a funny story about a woman who apparently got more than she bargained for when she went thrifting the other day. Apparently Ms Mendenhall bought a used couch for $27 at Value Village near her home.

Then the noises started. She looked all over to no avail until her boyfriend felt something underneath him as he sat on the couch. Moving it, he was astonished to find a ravenous kitty cat who had evidently found a hole in the back and stowed away.

Long story short, after bringing the kitty to her animal shelter and contacting the news outlets, the owner was reunited with his cat, having lost all hope of finding her after he had donated his old couch.

It seems the hidden benefits of thrifting sometimes go undetected until much later.

 

 

LA Times is Tuned In

Check out this article I stumbled. It’s fabulous and very well written.  Quite timely. 

Come to the Thrift Store

 http://tinyurl.com/tunedinlatimes